Java Bytecode

Definition - What does Java Bytecode mean?

Java bytecode is the result of the compilation of a Java program, an intermediate representation of that program which is machine independent.

The Java bytecode gets processed by the Java virtual machine (JVM) instead of the processor. It is the job of the JVM to make the necessary resource calls to the processor in order to run the bytecode.

Techopedia explains Java Bytecode

Java bytecode is the resulting compiled object code of a Java program. This bytecode can be run in any platform which has a Java installation in it.

This machine independence is because of the Java virtual machine that runs the bytecode in proxy of the processor which means that a Java programmer does not have to be knowledgeable about the quirks and nuances about specific operating systems and processors that the program will be run on because the virtual machine takes care of those specifics.

The Java bytecode is not completely compiled, but rather just an intermediate code sitting in the middle because it still has to be interpreted and executed by the JVM installed on the specific platform such as Windows, Mac or Linux.

Upon compile, the Java source code is converted into the .class bytecode.